THE CITY RAMPARTS OF EPHESUS

The ramparts of the city were built to defend the city from aggressors throughout the history. There are various era signs on the walls. The earliest construction dates back to 3rd century B.C. (Hellenistic age). These segments of the wall are still visible on the road to Virgin Mary's house. It is understood that this part of the walls were built during Lysimakhos era. There are certain quotations in Strabon's writings confirming this finding. The walls were built of 6m x 2m large, evenly shaped stone blocks. There used to be towers supporting the integrity of the walls with a certain frequency. Some of these towers are still visible. This Hellenistic era ramparts cover the areas between Pion mountain and the city harbour.

There were two main gates to the city. One of them is the Korressos Gate which is located between the Stadium and the Vedius Gymnasium. The other one is the Magnesia Gate which is on the road to the Virgin Mary's house.

The second era ramparts were built during the Byzantine period. As the city lost its importance and most of its population, it became harder to maintain the integrity of the walls and defending the city against aggressors. So, they built the new ramparts to defend a smaller portion of the city. There are walls still standing in front of the Celsus Library and along the Harbour Road from this era. The workmanship is not as good as the Hellenistic era walls.

During the following centuries Ephesus lost all of its importance and ramparts collapsed with earthquakes.